Piano Player’s Night

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1976

Production year

1976

Premiere

27 May 1977

Runtime

83 min

Category

film

Genre

drama, crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Noc klavíristy

Czech title

Noc klavíristy

English title

Piano Player’s Night

Working title

Případ klavíristy / Svítalo

Summary

When intensively working on the famous TV series Pan Tau (Tau, 1969–1978), director Jindřich Polák had little time for feature films, the notable exceptions being the sci-fi comedy Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem (I’ll Get Up and Scald Myself with Tea Tomorrow, 1977), and the crime drama Noc klavíristy (Piano Player’s Night, 1976). Written by Polák and Vojtěch Měšťan, it stars Václav Voska in one of his many great dramatic roles. The seasoned actor plays a bar pianist and amateur sleuth, who tries to find the murderer of a young man. His quiet, dogged determination helps him to find the perpetrator – a wealthy architect who has landed himself in trouble for accepting bribes and illegally trading in flats... Otakar Brousek plays the confident, immoral adversary who does not stop at murder to cover his tracks.

Synopsis

Senior project engineer Kratina is known to be a very capable man. His colleagues have a feeling that his dealings may not always be legal but since they all profit from the bribes, they back Kratina. Kratina's machinations with loft flats and small family houses provide a high living standard for him and his young wife Ivanka. But then Kratina's frauds are uncovered by a man who blackmails the engineer over the phone and asks for money in exchange for keeping silent about what he knows. In the evening, Kratina deposits the bribe money following the blackmailer's instructions, and then hides in his car parked not far from there, waiting with a rifle in his hand. Instead of the blackmailer, he shoots Jirka, the young son-in-law of the cloakroom woman Helena from the near-by wine bar. The first to run to the victim is the wine-bar piano player Tůma. But he doesn't see the killer. Tůma cannot understand the murder and begins his own private investigation. In his conversations with people, however, he is met with indifference. Nonetheless, he succeeds in discovering several suspicious facts. He tells the police investigator Kalous about these and unwittingly helps Kratina discover who it is that has blackmailed him - the decorator Šulc from his firm. Kratina invites Šulc for a ride in his car, and offers him a rise and a share of the profits. Šulc agrees. But at a turning the engineer knocks the man unconscious, pulls the wheel and the car ends up in a pond. Kratina swims out but even this second murder doesn't save him. His crime is exposed. In the empty wine bar Tůma plays slow tunes while the unhappy cloakroom woman listens.

Film online

Cast

Václav Voska

klavírista Antonín J. Tůma

Otakar Brousek

Ing. Kratina, vedoucí projektant Domova

Jan Kanyza

tapetář Šulc

Dana Medřická

šatnářka Helena Mráčková

Stanislava Bartošová

sekretářka Eva, Šulcova přítelkyně

Jana Švandová

Ivanka, Kratinova žena

Jiří Bartoška

Bob, Janin chlapec

Jiří Pleskot

Bárta, ředitel družstva Dřevina

Alois Švehlík

kriminalista Kalous

Jan Teplý

mistr Kříž

Karel Augusta

instalatér Císař zvaný Bidetka

Vlastimil Bedrna

kuchař Víšek

Marie Málková

barmanka Víšková

Jaroslav Drbohlav

Jirka Fousek, zeť Mráčkové

Jindra Kvardová

Šulcova matka

Eduard Dubský

vedoucí vinárny

Jiří Lábus

fotbalista Josef Matějíček

Hana Čížková

Milena, Matějíčkova dívka

Radúz Chmelík

Čečetka, pracovník družstva Domov

Otto Budín

Šrubař

Hana Kavalírová

Šrubařova žena

Antonín Hardt

muž myjící auto na dvoře

Jaroslav Mareš

zedník Pokorný

Jiří Havel

kriminalista Mareš

Jan Kuželka

zedník Rýdl

Miroslav Krejča

zedník Drábek

Karel Koloušek

zedník Jirsa

Zdeňka Rosolová

Janina matka

Antonín Stockinger

srandista František Dostál

Václav Syřiště

řidič dodávky/dubl za Jana Kanyzu

Zdeněk Dušek

muž s gramodeskami

Jan Waldmann

muž se džbánem

Jan Vild

Janin soused

Jiří Blažka

muž s foxteriérem

Jiří Forst

příslušník VB

Jaroslav Toť

příslušník VB

Antonín Filípek

potápěč

Jiří Hasil

předseda

Rudolf Horák

náčelník kriminálky

Bohuslav Ličman

kriminalista Bouček

Jana Sodomková

servírka

Libuše Vojáčková

servírka

J. Ksandr

fotograf

Milan Štrich

mladík z vinárny

Zita Kabátová

host ve vinárně

V. Kolátor

host ve vinárně

E. Sýkora

host ve vinárně

Dana Kusá

host ve vinárně

Marta Kaňovská

host ve vinárně

M. Sýkorová

host ve vinárně

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Milan Klacek

Assistant Director

Robert Vacík

Shooting Script

Jindřich Polák

Director of Photography

Josef Vaniš

Second Unit Photography

Václav Helliman

Camera Operator

Bohumil Vodička

Production Designer

Milan Nejedlý

Assistent Production Designer

Josef Kraus

Set Designer

Vladimír Mácha, Rudolf Příhoda, Vladimír Slepička

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Production Manager

Jan Šuster

Unit Production Manager

Rudolf Mos, Jan Vild

Unit Production Manager

Miloslav Doležal

Cooperation

Jitka Radová (klapka), Jindřich Panáček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Karel Svoboda

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Ó Rose Marie

Song Composer Rudolf Friml
Singer Jan Kuželka

Růžová krinolína

Song Composer František Svojík

Production info

Original Title

Noc klavíristy

Czech Title

Noc klavíristy

English Title

Piano Player’s Night

Working Title

Případ klavíristy / Svítalo

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1976

Production Year

1976

Production specifications

withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 27 May 1977 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 356 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech